Kind of a straightforward question, I think we're ALL familiar with cardboard-kun or occasionally chan who is nice and non-descript and manages to get one more characters who are obviously out of their league both in attractiveness and generally being interesting as a character interested in them, but that's old hat and I think we're all sick of it. So, let imagine you're being contracted to make a fresh, new anime with the genre being Harem and/or Romance and you aren't constrained by the common place tropes in terms of making a main cast, you more or less have free reign, boy or girl protag, kid to adult, what do ya do?

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Personally, I would go full parody with a totally socially inept and dense dude, like Mob from Mob Psycho maybe in his late highschool years to early college, have that be the joke. All these girls crushing on him and trying to confess to him and seduce him and he is literally so dense he just thinks they want to be his friends and causes their efforts to blow up in their faces in this Hinamatsuri-style escalating of events, just parodying ever trope from these types of shows.

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Either that or a series revolving around a tsundere chick that actually explores her mindset and how she functions and why she is they way she is as the guy she likes just sandbags her, like he's having NONE of it and just cuts her down immediately creating this fun dynamic as she learns how not to be a major bitch. Particular age doesn't matter, but maybe late college or even working age to give him more amount to be like 'You're a grown woman and you're STILL acting like this?'

Either or, just a character type you'd like to see in the role, it can be based off an existing character like the others have posted as well.

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Its hard to say what character type I'd like to see in the role, its a hard position to have the right type of person in. I liked how MT handled its harem, Rudy ended up being one of my favorite characters. I think my favorite way a harem was handled was in Sevens, which it quickly turns from some power fantasy to living nightmare, eventually the girls start factionalizing off, scheming against each other, a lot of unease and distrust towards each other and the MC wanted nothing to do with it, it was forced on him.

I think Naofumi might be the best, from shield hero, even he is a bit too dense for my liking at times.

Someone who actually makes their mind up and hooks up with someone when figure out which girl they've fallen for. Its super annoying watching two characters dodge a real romantic relationship for stupid and contrived reasons for an entire manga.

A good example is Araragi from the Monogatari series. He jokes around with other cute girls. But he's committed to Senjogahara as soon as they found trust and affection in each other. The relationship isn't easy. But its a real relationship and both people actively try to make it work.

A polyamourous relationship is okay for a harem series too. So long as the characters admit that they want to be in a relationship of some description without dragging it out for ages.

Lately there are making protagnist who are like a-kun. From aho girl. Equal oppurtunity for everyone. Kinda the grump guy but still kinda scared of girls. Well a kun doesnt care. He simply is a thot destroyer.

While the above idea of a protagnoist not bieng a complete pussy who has girls coming on to him on every occasion is not rare and often is a thing in hentais.

In harems just having a guy be an actual guy is i shit u not gonna blow your fucking minds. And no i dont mean perverts master roshi type doofus. Or motherfucking chads who fuck everything that breathes.

But just a normal dude. Not extreme in either way.

Not a pussy.
Not a chad

Ofcourse to give harem still that spice there needs to be some indescivness involved or maby not per se a monogamous relationship.

I mean can u imagine if every teenage boy is either a pussy who runs like 10 miles everytime a girl comes within a radius of 1 km IRL?

i know it adds comedic effect and is fiction and all.

But if we are already seeing a bit of progress in non bitchmade harem protagonist. Why might as well experiment.

I guess a guy like Jotaro from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. A guy who is just a badass and has women go crazy for him, but who either doesn’t care about the women or is obvious to them. Something like that.